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ok- going on a limb here, and know I am gonna get flamed- but here is my question- how does someone as successful, beautiful, rich and famous, become depressed? dont get me wrong, I jnow " depression" has no boundries- but how is it possible at her age and wealth to be so anxious and depressed she has to check herself into a clinic

I agree with you. She has nothing to be depressed about. I think that her depression is situational. She probably is having problems in her love life and doesn't feel stability at this point. She is also getting older. I sometimes feel depressed and I have it all, albeit on a smaller scale. A person just sometimes feels blue.

That being said, I don't see anything wrong with her wanting to get herself straightened out. She needs to accept that she is growing older and life is changing for her. It's hard to do...She's part of the Hollywood scene that discards the old for the new.

Hopefully, she will get it together for herself and her child. I like Heather and always have. I'm sorry that it didn't work out for Richie and her.

I'm glad Heather has decided to get some help., I will keep her in my prayers.

j2mirish and SCM, thanks for acknowledging me, I know I'm a pain in everyones a&& when I get going about Mental illness and Scientology but I just can't stop myself LOL

Jeana mentioned the fact that sometimes medications can stop working and you have to get med. changes. I am on my way there- my meds are not working anymore. Last week I noticed small things, slight changes in myself.

your not a pain in my a&&- you are the one that has made me understand most of these things with your honesty and explanations

What I wonder about is not knowing there is depression but having a physical manifestation. When I was in my early twenties my body started feeling like bad pins and needles tingling especially in my legs and up my torso. I had insurance so I went into the hospital for tests and they found nothing wrong. The dr.s said it was depression and I kept saying that I wasn't depressed. I was given some medication that I faithfully took and the tingling went away after a few weeks. I'd like to know if I'm depressed and don't realize it.

Again, I'm not a doctor and these are just MO...

Depression can cause physical ailments, absolutely!

Society misunderstands Mental illness to such an extent that we come to believe that we have to have something bad going on in our life to become depressed so we ignore or remain unaware of our symptoms if that isn't the case.

~~Aahh, I'm are just over tired, don't feel like going out.. lost interest in the book I'm reading.. letting laundry go unwashed for longer than usual.. not paying as close attention to your appearence as ya usually do. Taking naps during the day because your just sooo tired. All of a sudden making quick easy meals when you normally go all out cooking dinner.~~

It's small things at first .. things we don't even really see, things we pass off as just being tired or over-worked because the beginning stages mimic just that! I never knew I was depressed (or manic but that's a entirely different issue LOL) because it was all I ever was. It tricks you, moving in slowley because it doesn't want you to notice it!

It sounds to me like if it was depression you had, you got treatment before it went into a deeper stage.. you were very lucky because depression (all mental illness really) is a progressive disease. I assure you, if what you had was depression, had you not gotten treatment when you did, your symptoms would have worsened and you (and your loved ones) would have begun noticing them.

your not a pain in my a&&- you are the one that has made me understand most of these things with your honesty and explanations

Thanks

In an earlier post you asked if clinical depression just "shows up at your door" and I wanted to answer that. Yeah, it does but like I said to txsvicki, it's sneaky and slow about it at first.

For a lot of people, by the time they notice it their life is already out of control. Often they have begun using alcohol and or drugs to take the edge off, often their family gives up on them, often they loose their children. Sometimes they simply cannot handle it anymore and they end their pain through suicide.

It's a $hitty thing, it really is. I am glad Heather is getting help, her daughter needs her well.

I agree with you. She has nothing to be depressed about. I think that her depression is situational. She probably is having problems in her love life and doesn't feel stability at this point. She is also getting older. I sometimes feel depressed and I have it all, albeit on a smaller scale. A person just sometimes feels blue.

You say she has nothing to be depressed about, yet that her depression is situational. In order to suffer from situational depression, you have to have something that is CAUSING that depression, i.e. a divorce, a death, etc.

For all we know, she could have suffered from clinical depression most of her life. It can be kept hidden at times, when we want it to. My coworkers would never imagine that I suffer from clinical depression because 98&#37; of the time, I put on a damn good front.

To those who don't "get" how she can be depressed, you're lucky. You obviously haven't had to deal with this disease personally. It can't be truly understood by someone who hasn't felt it. It can be debilitating. This morning, I woke up in a good mood. Within 15 minutes, I was having random thoughts of driving my car into a tree on the way to work. My brain can be incredibly cruel. And sometimes I want to stand up and scream about how unfair it is that I have this HUGE monkey on my back who does whatever he can to keep me from enjoying the amazing life with which I've been blessed.

Justice for Travis

Sometimes the first step towards forgiveness is understanding that the other person is a complete idiot.

To those who don't "get" how she can be depressed, you're lucky. You obviously haven't had to deal with this disease personally. It can't be truly understood by someone who hasn't felt it.

AMEN to that. I married my hubby 8 years ago, and I had no idea he suffered from depression (and bi-polar...). In the first year of our marriage I realized he was depressed, and I told him to "think happy thoughts - that's what I do when I feel down"...heheheheh . . . how naive! Looking back, all the signs were there even before we married, but I just was not aware of them so I did not see them for what they were. Also, just about every member of his immediate family suffers to one extent or another from depression, so I definitely believe it 'runs in families'...

You say she has nothing to be depressed about, yet that her depression is situational. In order to suffer from situational depression, you have to have something that is CAUSING that depression, i.e. a divorce, a death, etc.

For all we know, she could have suffered from clinical depression most of her life. It can be kept hidden at times, when we want it to. My coworkers would never imagine that I suffer from clinical depression because 98% of the time, I put on a damn good front.

To those who don't "get" how she can be depressed, you're lucky. You obviously haven't had to deal with this disease personally. It can't be truly understood by someone who hasn't felt it. It can be debilitating. This morning, I woke up in a good mood. Within 15 minutes, I was having random thoughts of driving my car into a tree on the way to work. My brain can be incredibly cruel. And sometimes I want to stand up and scream about how unfair it is that I have this HUGE monkey on my back who does whatever he can to keep me from enjoying the amazing life with which I've been blessed.

Excuse me, let me reword: In the big scheme of things, compared to the average person, it appears that Heather would have no reason to be depressed for she is truly blessed with fame, fortune, good looks and a healthy child.

Second, let me add, depression runs in my family. I in fact feel that I have been depressed all of my life. I have never been treated for it. I fight it. I exercise, which helps. I realize that I probably would have a better quality of life if I got some treatment, but I do not want to deal with side effects of medication. I also have no reason to be depressed as I am living a pretty good life.

I think maybe people suffer from varying degrees of depression also. While you, nan, may be able to function w/o meds (which is awesome!), others can't. I know I can't. And I definitely do my best to keep on top of my depression. Most times I can work it out of my system before it completely takes over. But once it's gotten to a certain point, there's nothing I can do to fix it or make it go away. And sometimes it comes on so fast, I don't even realize it.

Also, since I've been dealing with this since I was in my teens, I no longer have any idea what it feels like to be normal. One day I might be having a rotten day, but is that just a typical rotten day for the average person? Or is this my depression kicking in? How often do normal people feel blah, down, sad, hopeless? Do normal people ever have the "I can't stand one more second of this life?" feeling? So it's very hard for me to decipher between just having a blah day/moment/whatever and my depression.

Justice for Travis

Sometimes the first step towards forgiveness is understanding that the other person is a complete idiot.

I'm not saying she doesn't have depression. Heck how would I know. But I do know that a lot of stars check themselves into "facilities" of all kinds to dry out or detox. I'm not saying she did this but it just seems to me that "Depression" of any kind seems to be a lot more PC than drug abuse these days so it could be the reason given as to why someone is checking into a facility. They are much more likely to be sympathized than villified, as you see on this thread even. Tipper Gore shined a spotlight on depression when Al was running for President and Mental Illness was going to be her platform as First Lady since she has it as well. Since then it's been viewed with more understanding as it should be instead of , 'this person is crazy and on medication". That being said I think some famous people use the depression excuse to cover up a drug problem. I'm not saying Heather is doing that. Just that it is sometimes done and I always think about that when I hear about someone doing something crazy because of "depression". IMO it is used as a PC catch-all sometimes. BTW my sister takes Paxil and needs medication so I'm not dissing anybody or the illness. Just throwing out something to think about.

You say she has nothing to be depressed about, yet that her depression is situational. In order to suffer from situational depression, you have to have something that is CAUSING that depression, i.e. a divorce, a death, etc.

For all we know, she could have suffered from clinical depression most of her life. It can be kept hidden at times, when we want it to. My coworkers would never imagine that I suffer from clinical depression because 98% of the time, I put on a damn good front.

To those who don't "get" how she can be depressed, you're lucky. You obviously haven't had to deal with this disease personally. It can't be truly understood by someone who hasn't felt it. It can be debilitating. This morning, I woke up in a good mood. Within 15 minutes, I was having random thoughts of driving my car into a tree on the way to work. My brain can be incredibly cruel. And sometimes I want to stand up and scream about how unfair it is that I have this HUGE monkey on my back who does whatever he can to keep me from enjoying the amazing life with which I've been blessed.

Depression isn't caused because you're not attractive, poor, etc. Its a chemical thing. She is apparently been on medication, but I've heard that from time to time medication taken for depression needs to be evaluated and/or changed because the body can build up a tolerance to it. She seems to have been having some problems for a bit since that 911 call came up. She could probably hide it better before, because the officers that went to her house said she was fine. A little while longer and she apparently knew that she needed to listen to her doctors.

I get depressed in the wintertime. I hate Christmas and I hate the cold weather. My body and my brain do way better in the summertime, so I kinda know how it feels.

I know first hand what a horrible thing trying to find the right meds can be. Other people can look at any of us and think that we don't have anything to be depressed about. I have been on over 30 different medications over the years. It is wonderful that she recognizes that she needs help. It's also a bonus for her that she can afford the best treatment for herself. Being depressed and anxious is truly exhausting...much more so than being healthy. I wish her all the best and I hope her boyfriend stands behind her.

I know first hand what a horrible thing trying to find the right meds can be. Other people can look at any of us and think that we don't have anything to be depressed about. I have been on over 30 different medications over the years. It is wonderful that she recognizes that she needs help. It's also a bonus for her that she can afford the best treatment for herself. Being depressed and anxious is truly exhausting...much more so than being healthy. I wish her all the best and I hope her boyfriend stands behind her.

Hugs, my dear.

Justice for Travis

Sometimes the first step towards forgiveness is understanding that the other person is a complete idiot.

Excuse me, let me reword: In the big scheme of things, compared to the average person, it appears that Heather would have no reason to be depressed for she is truly blessed with fame, fortune, good looks and a healthy child.

Second, let me add, depression runs in my family. I in fact feel that I have been depressed all of my life. I have never been treated for it. I fight it. I exercise, which helps. I realize that I probably would have a better quality of life if I got some treatment, but I do not want to deal with side effects of medication. I also have no reason to be depressed as I am living a pretty good life.

Depression has nothing to do with how pretty someone is, or how much money someone makes. It's INSIDE the person..............

You can't bat your pretty eyelashes and make depression run, you can't buy your way out of depression. These people are human too!!! If you had asthma or diabetes, would a bigger house make it go away?